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Panellist

Tony Abbott

Shadow Minister for Community Services; Author, Battlelines

Tony Abbott is renowned as a pugnacious and committed politician and this month joined the ranks of parliamentary authors with the publication of his book Battlelines.

Described as a conservative manifesto, it maintained Tony’s reputation for controversy by offering contentious policy options and outlining the values he thought the Liberal Party should represent. The book charts a future for the Liberals after the 2007 election defeat and offers an insider’s view of the Howard government.

Tony was born in London in November 1957 of Australian parents who moved back to Sydney in 1960. He graduated from Sydney University with degrees in law and economics, then achieved an MA and two blues in boxing as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.

Since his student days Tony has been involved in right-wing politics and socially conservative causes linked to his Catholic faith. He once considered becoming a priest but changed his mind. After working as a journalist, a press secretary for Liberal leader John Hewson and as Executive Director of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy, he became the Liberal member for Warringah, on Sydney’s northern beaches, in a by-election in March 1994.

Tony joined the Howard government’s front bench after the 1998 election and for the next ten years served in a range of portfolios including Employment Services, Workplace Relations and Health. In Opposition he has been shadow minister for families, community services and indigenous affairs, and has not ruled out one day standing for the leadership.

Tony is well-known for his public campaigns against such things as abortion, stem cell research and an Australian republic. He also participates each year in the marathon Pollie Pedal bike ride to raise funds for medical research. Tony, his wife Margaret and their three daughters live in the northern Sydney suburb of Forestville.

Tony Abbott: Battlelines | ABC Fora | 7 August 2009"Tony Abbott has just launched his book 'Battlelines', which offers a range of policy ideas for the coalition to consider in time for the next election. Many political observers say its release is a signal that Mr Abbott is positioning for his own run at the Liberal leadership. Here at the National Press Club in Canberra, he offers his thoughts on solutions to the declining birth-rate and aging population, and unveils some of his policy visions, including his analysis of approaches to health and education policy." Listen to audio or watch video of the report.

Tony Abbott launches Battlelines book | Radio National Breakfast | 28 July 2009"He's less popular in the polls than Coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull, but that hasn't stopped Tony Abbott from putting his thoughts together on the way forward for the Liberal party in a new book. It's called Battlelines, and while he may only be the Opposition spokesman on families, housing and community services, his book is being promoted as 'the essential manifesto for the thinking Liberal'." Listen to audio of the report.

No place for noble savages | The Australian | 8 May 2009"AT some point in the early 1970s, official policy towards Aboriginal people shifted from integration and assimilation to self-determination. It reflected guilt about their dispossession and embarrassment at the destruction of their culture." An article by Tony Abbott.

Tony Abbott | Sunday Profile | 12 June 2005"Tony Abbott, Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, talks about the impact of the Daniel O'Connor story on him, his family and his wife; how he tries to keep his religious beliefs separate from his politics and why he believes the Australian voter wouldn't have any trouble electing a devoutly religious person,somebody not unlike himself, to high office." Read a transcript or listen to audio of Monica Attard's interview with Tony Abbott. [Audio|Transcript]

The Rise and Rise of Tony Abbott | Sunday | 15 July 2001"Tony Abbott does not pull any punches, whether in the ring or on the hustings. The former pugilist is probably Australia's most controversial politician; he's not afraid to say what he thinks — an unusual trait in a member of parliament." Read a transcript of John Lyons' report.